Fishing reel

ABSTRACT

A fishing reel includes a spool capable of winding a fishing line, a detector capable of detecting the rotation amount of the spool, a storage that records the rotation amount of the spool as a detection result, and a transmitter that transmits the detection result to the outside, and is configured to select the casting mode when the detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is equal to or greater than a first threshold, and to select the drop mode when the detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is less than the first threshold.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a fishing reel capable of performing datacommunication.

BACKGROUND

Various realization methods have been known for reels that communicatewith external devices. As such a fishing reel, for example, JapanesePatent Application Publication No. 2016-073270 discloses, in connectionwith a technique of remotely controlling an electric fishing reelpowered by a motor to wind a fishing line, a configuration to remotelycontrol the electric fishing reel through Bluetooth (registeredtrademark) or Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) using a smartphone or mobilephone as a remote control terminal.

More specifically, Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2016-073270 discloses a remote control system that remotely controls anelectric fishing reel by wireless communication with a communicationterminal pre-equipped with a wireless communication module that iscompliant with the Near Field Communication standard for digitalequipment and/or compatible with Wi-Fi, wherein the electric fishingreel is provided with a wireless communication module compatible withthe wireless communication module of the communication terminal, to thecommunication terminal a program is installed that, when a command forcontrolling the electric fishing reel by a user interface thereof isselected, transmits said command to the electric fishing reel, and uponthe start of the program by the communication terminal, the electricfishing reel transmits the connection request signal with the device IDof the reel to the communication terminal and then, the communicationterminal transmits, upon the receipt of the connection request signal bythe communication terminal, a connection permission signal to theelectric fishing reel with said device ID to establish a communicationprotocol, and, thereafter, the electric fishing reel and thecommunication terminal continue to mutually transmit and receivekeep-alive signals until the program is terminated.

A spool rotates at high speed upon casting a rig such as a lure. Whendetecting and recording that operation, frequent processing is required.However, performing such processing and communication processing with anexternal device simultaneously poses a problem that the overallprocessing load becomes excessive. Japanese Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2016-073270 discloses that it is possible to communicatebetween the reel and the external device, but does not disclose how toperform the both processes.

It could therefore be helpful to provide a fishing reel capable ofperforming communication processing with an external device whileminimizing obstruction to detection processing.

SUMMARY

I thus provide:

A fishing reel may include a spool capable of winding a fishing line, adetector (detecting unit or detecting portion) capable of detecting therotation amount of the spool, a storage (storing unit or storingportion) that records the rotation amount of the spool as a detectionresult, and a transmitter (transmitting unit or transmitting portion)that transmits the detection result to the outside, and is configured toselect the casting mode when the detection result of the rotation amountof the spool is equal to or greater than the first threshold, and toselect the drop mode when the detection result of the rotation amount ofthe spool is less than the first threshold.

A fishing reel may be configured to select the casting mode when thedetection result of the rotation amount of the spool is equal to orgreater than the first threshold, and then to shift to the drop modewhen the detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is lessthan the first threshold.

The casting mode may be a state in which transmission from thetransmitter to the outside is disabled.

The drop mode may be a state in which transmission from the transmitterto the outside is enabled.

The storage may record a detection result at every predeterminedsampling time, and the sampling time in the casting mode is shorter thanthat in the drop mode.

A mode management system of a fishing reel may be configured to includean information processing device having any of the above-mentionedfishing reels, a receiver (receiving unit or receiving portion) thatreceives the detection results, and an output portion (output unit) thatoutputs the detection results.

The information processing device may be configured to include anindicator (indicating unit or indicating portion) that displaysdetection results.

The information processing device may be configured to be a portabledevice.

Performing communication processing with an external device whenprocessing load is low makes it possible to perform detection/storageprocessing and communication processing with an external device uponcasting in an appropriate and reliable manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1(a)-1(g) are diagrams illustrating the outline of a castingprocedure upon casting of a fishing lure according to an example.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of dropping a fishing lurerig according to an example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating changes in the unwinding speed of afishing line unwound from a fishing reel according to an example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a fishing reel according to an example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a mode determination flow of a fishingreel according to an example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the detection of the spool rotationspeed of a fishing reel according to an example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a signal obtained when a spool of afishing reel according to an example rotates.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERICAL REFERENCES

-   -   1 Fishing reel    -   2 Clutch    -   3 Spool    -   4 Operation portion    -   5 Rotation detector    -   6 Casting preparation commencement detector    -   7 Casting completion detector    -   8 History data generator    -   9 Storage    -   10 History data    -   11 Spool rotation amount    -   12 Time change in braking force on a spool    -   13 Fishing line reaching distance    -   14 Maximum speed of a fishing line    -   15 Daily casting history    -   16 Reel use history    -   17 Braking force control means    -   18 Fishing line retrieval detector    -   19 Output portion    -   20 Transmitter    -   21 Receiving means    -   22 Output portion    -   23 Information processing device    -   24 Indicator

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, examples of my fishing reels will be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings. Components common in theplurality of drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals throughthe plurality of drawings. Each of the drawings is not necessarilyscaled for convenience of explanation.

Typical usage using a general reel including my reels can be roughlydivided into two types, those for casting a rig mainly in the horizontaldirection, and for dropping a rig downward in the vertical direction.

First, an example of a procedure for casting fishing tools such as alure using a general reel including my reels will be described withreference to FIGS. 1(a)-1(g). Casting is generally used when aiming todeliver a rig such as a lure and a hook horizontally to a distancetoward a target fish.

First, as shown in FIG. 1(a), a lure 20 is adjusted by a reel 1 to apredetermined length from the rod tip of a fishing rod 10, a clutch 2 ofthe reel 1 (not illustrated) is turned off to make it a spool-freestate. At this time, a spool 3 of the reel 1 is pressed by a thumb sothat the fishing line is not unwound due to the self-weight of the lure20 or the like.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1(b) to 1(d), the initial speed is given to thelure 20 by swinging the fishing rod 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 1(e), thelure 20 can be cast when releasing the thumb from the spool 3 at thetiming where the lure speed and the unwinding direction becomeappropriate.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1(g), after casting, the lure 20 startsdecelerating, receiving tension from the fishing line and airresistance. On the other hand, the spool 3 starts rotating backward dueto tension from the fishing line. When the unwinding speed of thefishing line coincides with the flying speed of the lure 20, the spool 3rotates at a maximum speed, and the fishing line loses tension. The lure20 continues to decelerate thereafter due to air resistance and thelike. Then, if the spool 3 continues to rotate at high speed due toinertia, the unwinding speed of the fishing line exceeds the flyingspeed of the lure 20.

As a result, the fishing line is excessively reeled out, and entangledin the reel 1. To avoid this, predetermined braking force can be appliedto the spool 3 by a fishing reel 5. Further, the appropriateness of thebraking force can be judged from the changes in speed in flying.Therefore, casting conditions can be controlled by measuring andrecording the changes in speed.

Next, dropping of a rig (dropping) will be described with reference toFIG. 2. The dropping of a rig here is generally used when delivering arig such as a lure and a hook toward a target fish living near the seafloor from a fishing boat or a deep water quay.

First, a user makes preparations by, for instance, baiting a hook orfilling a burley cage with ground bait, or replacing the lure 20, afteroperating the reel 1 to draw the tip of a hook near him/her. Next, afterthe completion of the preparations, the clutch is turned off to make thespool 3 a spool-free-state, and the spool 3 is pressed by a thumb.Thereafter, when releasing the thumb from the spool 3 after delivering aweight or the lure 20 toward water surface, the rig drops due to gravityacting on the weight.

Next, the rig stops dropping when reaching the sea floor. The clutch isthen connected, and the fishing line is rewound as necessary to wait fora fish to take a bait. In some cases, it is also possible to connect theclutch before the rig reaches the sea floor to wind the lure or the likefrom halfway. Thereafter, when detecting that a fish takes the hook, orafter a predetermined time elapses, the rig is retrieved operating thereel 1.

Since the falling speed of a rig and the winding speed described abovevary depending on the fish species and fishing method, a difference mayarise in a catch in fishing. Therefore, measuring the speed andrecording the speed history improve the catch.

With reference to FIG. 3, the unwinding speeds of a fishing line arecompared upon casting and dropping a rig as described above. In FIG. 3,the horizontal axis represents the time elapsed from the commencement ofunwinding, and the vertical axis represents the unwinding speed of aline, and the solid line and the broken line show the typical data atthe time of dropping and casting, respectively.

When using, for example, a general tackle commonly used in black bathfishing upon casting, the initial speed upon casting is about 55 m/s(about 200 km/h), and the final speed is about 10 m/s. Further, theduration until the water landing is 5 seconds at most, and the amount ofa line unwound is about 10 to 100 m.

On the other hand, a dropping speed (of a rig) is slower than a flyingspeed upon casting where a rig flies in the air due to the viscousresistance of water. Though it may vary depending on, for example, thedepth of water, the weight of the weight, and the thickness of a line,the maximum speed is about 4 m/s, which is about 1/10 of the speed uponcasting. Also, the speed change is smaller during dropping than duringcasting where a rig moves in the air.

The duration until a rig reaches the sea floor greatly varies dependingon the depth of water and the rig, but it sometimes takes severalminutes if it can take as long as several minutes, and it tends to belonger than when casting. The amount of a line unwound is up to about1.5 times the depth of water, and varies depending on the topography andthe target fish. However, under ordinary conditions, it is often about10 m to 200 m, which is of a magnitude similar to casting.

In actual fishing, there are instances where both casting and droppingare involved, such as when casting a rig in the horizontal direction,and then submerging the same onto a deep sea floor. Even in thisinstance, the first step of a rig flying in the air upon castingcontinues to the second step of the rig falling and submerging itself inwater, and it is possible to distinguish one from the other by theunwinding speed of the line.

Some reels have only either of the envisaged use such as electric reelswhose envisaged use is usually limited to dropping a rig. However,whether it is used for dropping or casting depends on the fishing methodand the user, and the same reel may be used for both cases depending onthe type of the reel.

Next, a fishing reel according to an example will be described withreference to FIG. 4. As illustrated, the fishing reel 1 is configured toinclude the spool 3 that winds a fishing line, an operation portion(operation unit) 4 that rotates the spool 3, a clutch 2 that switchesfrom the power transmissible mode to the power non-transmissible modeand vice versa between the operation portion and the spool, a rotationdetector (rotation detecting unit or rotation detecting portion) 5 thatdetects the rotation of the spool 3, a casting preparation commencementdetector (casting preparation commencement detecting unit or castingpreparation commencement detecting portion) 6 that detects thepreparation for casting, a casting completion detector (castingcompletion detecting unit or casting completion detecting portion) 7that detects the completion of casting, a history data generator(history data generating unit or history data generating portion) 8 thatgenerates history data from the preparation for casting to thecompletion of casting, and a storage (storing unit or storing portion) 9that records the history data. It should be noted that some of theforegoing may be outside of the fishing reel, or a receiver provided inan external information communication terminal may receive history datafrom the storage 9. An output portion (output unit) and an indicator(indicating unit or indicating portion) of the external informationcommunication terminal may output and display history data received. Insuch a situation, it is called a mode management system of a fishingreel together with the fishing reel.

The spool 3 is rotatably supported with respect to the fishing reel 1,and can wind a fishing line by forward rotation and unwind the woundfishing line by backward rotation. The operation portion 4 isconfigured, for example, as a handle, and transmits the rotationoperation by a user to the spool 3 via a transmission mechanism such asa gear so that the spool 3 can be rotated forward. The operation portion4 may be a combination of an operation member such as a lever, and apower source such as a motor.

The clutch 2 can be switched between two modes: the “on” mode wherepower is transmissible and the “off” mode where power is nottransmitted. In the “on” mode, the spool 3 can be rotated forward by anoperation member 3, and in the “off” mode, the spool 3 can be rotatedforward and backward regardless of the state of the operation member 3(spool-free state).

The rotation detector 5 can be configured by a combination of adetection means such as a photo interrupter and a detected means such asa light shielding plate provided on the spool 3. This allows therotation of the spool 3 to be converted into an electric signal. Thecombination of the detection means and the detected means is not limitedto the above example, and a known means such as a magnet and a magneticsensor can be used.

Next, a sequence of detection of the commencement of unwinding of aspool and the subsequent distinction between casting and dropping in thefishing reel 1 according to an example will be described with referenceto FIG. 5.

As illustrated, first in step 1, the commencement of unwinding of afishing line from the spool 3 is detected. Commencement of the unwindingis detected when the commencement of the rotation of the spool 3 isdetected after the clutch 2 is disconnected. Further, the detection mayalso be made when a line length becomes equal to or less than apredetermined value (e.g., 1 m or less from the tip of a rod) and thenbecomes equal to or greater than the predetermined value, or when therotation speed of the spool 3 becomes equal to or greater than apredetermined value.

Next, in step 2, when a predetermined time (e.g., 100 ms) elapses, thespool rotation speed at that time is detected. The reason to wait untilthe predetermined time elapses is because it is practically difficult tojudge whether a rig has been casted or dropped since the spool 3 keepsaccelerating for a while after the unwinding of a line.

As described above, since the spool rotation speed greatly differsbetween the casting and dropping, a first threshold V1 (e.g., 5,000 rpm)is set in steps 3 and 4 after a lapse of a predetermined time, and thecasting mode is on as in step 5 when the spool speed is higher than thefirst threshold V1. When the casting mode is on, communication with theoutside is disabled. Further, with the sampling time being set to T1,the rotation speed of the spool 3 is measured and recorded every T1ms.Each time, the speed is compared to the first threshold V1, and the modechanges to the drop mode when the speed becomes V1 or less (rig).

Objects cast such as a lure are subject to water resistance afterlanding on water, and the spool rotation speed is greatly reduced to thethreshold V1 or less as described above. When this is detected, the modechanges to the drop mode as shown in step 6. When the drop mode is on,communication with the outside is enabled. Further, the sampling timefor measuring and recording the rotation speed of the spool 3 is set toT2 that is longer than T1.

Next, the spool rotation speed is measured and recorded every T2ms instep 7. After moving to the drop mode, the rotation speed of the spool 3is not accelerated again through the normal use of the reel. Thus, thetransition from the drop mode to the casting mode need not be taken intoaccount in practice.

After the mode changes to the drop mode, the rotation speed of the spool3 is compared to a second threshold V2 (e.g., 200 rpm) in step 8. Whenit is detected that the rotation speed of the spool 3 becomes equal toor less than V2, it is judged in step 9 that the unwinding of thefishing line is completed. In the event the drop mode is not requiredsuch as when fishing in shallow water, the first threshold and thesecond threshold may be identical. This makes it possible to detect thecompletion of unwinding directly from the casting mode.

As described above, the speed of the spool 3 is measured and the data isrecorded at sampling time T1 in the casting mode, and at sampling timeT2 that is longer than T1 in the drop mode, which makes it possible tocontrol each sampling time.

Upon casting, the rotation speed of the spool 3 is large, and the speedmay largely change. Therefore, to accurately record the phenomenon, itis necessary to frequently record the data. For example, when recordingthe speed of the spool 3 every time the fishing line moves 1 m, it isnecessary to record in casting more than 10 times as often as ( 1/10 orless sampling time) in dropping.

On the other hand, in dropping, though the speed and the speed changeare smaller than those in casting, the duration may be longer.Therefore, if the data is recorded at the sampling time in casting, theprocessing load unnecessarily increases, which has adverse effects suchas increase in the storage capacity. In particular, the duration of thedrop mode can be many times that of the casting mode as described above.Therefore, if the data is recorded at the same sampling time, thestorage capacity will also be many times greater, which results in anincrease in the communication time when the information needs to betransmitted. Even then, the above-described adverse effects can beavoided by making the sampling time in the drop mode longer than that ofthe casting mode.

The fishing reel 1 includes the spool 3 capable of winding a fishingline, the detector 5 capable of detecting the rotation amount of thespool 3, the storage 9 that records the rotation amount of the spool asa detection result, and a transmitter 20 that transmits the detectionresult to the outside, and is configured to select the casting mode whenthe detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is equal to orgreater than a first threshold, and to select the drop mode when thedetection result of the rotation amount of the spool is less than thefirst threshold.

The fishing reel 1 makes it possible to perform detection/storageprocessing and communication processing with an external device uponcasting in an accurate and reliable manner by carrying out thecommunication processing with the external device when the processingload is low.

The fishing reel 1 is configured to select the casting mode when thedetection result of the rotation amount of the spool 3 is equal to orgreater than the first threshold, and then to shift to the drop modewhen the detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is lessthan the first threshold.

The fishing reel 1 makes it possible to perform detection/storageprocessing and communication processing with an external device uponcasting in an accurate and reliable manner by carrying out thecommunication processing with the external device when the processingload is low.

Transmission from the transmitter to the outside may be disabled in thecasting mode. Transmission from the transmitter to the outside may beenabled in the drop mode.

The storage means may record a detection result at each predeterminedsampling time, and the sampling time in the casting mode is shorter thanthat in the drop mode.

Next, the influence on the detection, if any, of the rotation speed ofthe spool will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In theillustrated example, an incremental-type rotary encoder is used as therotation detector 5, but the example is not limited thereto. Therotation detector 5 includes a first detector 51A, a second detector51B, and a detected portion 52. A photo interrupter, for example, can beused for the first detector 51A and the second detector 51B. An electricsignal can be generated depending on the presence or absence of a lightshielding object between a light emitting portion and a light receivingportion that are disposed opposite to each other in a sensor.

As the detected portion 52, a pulse plate in which N (four in theillustrated example) light shielding plates in a ring shape are equallyarranged at every 180/N^(o) (45° in the illustrated example) is used. Atthis time, the first detector 51A and the second detector 51B arearranged 90/N^(o) apart (22.5° in the illustrated example). The rotationdetector 5 is not limited to the above example, but it is desirable tobe a non-contact type to avoid the occurrence of sliding friction.Besides the photo interrupter, a reflective photo sensor, a magneticsensor or the like may also be used. Reflectors, magnets and the likesuitable for the detection method can be used as a detected portion.

When the spool 3 makes one rotation, a signal as shown in FIG. 7 isobtained by the above configuration. That is, both a signal (phase A)obtained from the first detector 51A and a signal (phase B) obtainedfrom the second detector 51B switch between H and L each time the spoolrotates 180/N^(o) (45°), and the phase A differs from phase B by90/N^(o) (22.5°). The rotation direction can be judged from therelationship between phases A and B, and the rotation of the spool 3 atevery 90/N^(o) (22.5°) can be detected.

Next, communication processing performed when the spool 3 is rotating athigh-speed will be considered. When the spool is rotating at ω (°/sec),it takes 90/ωN seconds for the spool 3 to rotate 90/N^(o). If amicrocomputer cannot detect the states of the phases A and B within saidtime, it misses the rotation of the spool 3.

Further, when performing data communication with the outside, themicrocomputer often does so intermittently. The processing time isassumed to be Tc seconds. When Tc>90/ωN, it is necessary tosimultaneously perform data communication processing and spool rotationdetection processing, which makes it difficult for a single-taskingmicrocomputer to do so.

As a specific example of casting, the speed of a cast object is V (m/s),spool diameter D (m) is 35/1000 m, the number of light shielding platesN is 4, and the communication processing time Tc is 1 ms. The timerequired for the spools 3 to rotate 90/N^(o) is 1000 πD/4VNms. Since thecommunication processing must be completed within this period of time,Tc<100πD/4VN and V<1000πD<4TcN. When the above conditions aresubstituted, and the speed V of the cast object is 6.87 m/s or more,spool rotation detection processing and the communication processingoccur simultaneously.

When the threshold V1 upon dropping and casting is set to be equal to orless than said value, the simultaneous occurrence of processing can beavoided by stopping the communication processing in the case of casting.Since the speed is below that at which the simultaneous processing ispossible in dropping, spool rotation can be detected even if thecommunication processing is enabled, which makes it possible to reducethe time lag in communication with an external device. Since theabove-mentioned speed varies depending on the spool diameter D, thenumber of light shielding plates N, and the communication processingtime Tc, the communication processing may be disabled even in the dropmode in some instances.

The dimensions, materials and arrangements of each component describedherein are not limited to those explicitly described in the examples,and each component can be modified to have any dimension, material andarrangement that can be included within the scope of this disclosure.Further, components that are not explicitly described herein may beadded to the described examples, or some of the components described ineach example may also be omitted.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fishing reel comprising a spool capable ofwinding a fishing line, a detector capable of detecting a rotationamount of the spool, a storage that records the rotation amount of thespool as a detection result, and a transmitter that transmits thedetection result to the outside, wherein the casting mode is selectedwhen the detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is equalto or greater than a first threshold, and the drop mode is selected whenthe detection result of the rotation amount of the spool is less thanthe first threshold.
 2. The fishing reel according to claim 1, whereinthe casting mode is selected when the detection result of the rotationamount of the spool is equal to or greater than the first threshold and,thereafter, the mode changes to the drop mode when the detection resultof the rotation amount of the spool becomes less than the firstthreshold.
 3. The fishing reel according to claim 1, whereintransmission from the transmitter to the outside is disabled in thecasting mode.
 4. The fishing reel according to claim 1, whereintransmission from the transmitter to the outside is enabled in the dropmode.
 5. The fishing reel according to claim 1, wherein the storagerecords a detection result at every predetermined sampling time, and thesampling time in the casting mode is shorter than that in the drop mode.6. A mode management system of the fishing reel according to claim 1,comprising the fishing reel, and an information processing device havinga receiver that receives the detection result, and a output portion thatoutputs the detection result.
 7. The mode management system of thefishing reel according to claim 6, wherein the information processingdevice includes an indicator that displays the detection result.
 8. Themode management system of the fishing reel according to claim 6, whereinthe information processing device is a portable device.